Cheesy Skillet Gnocchi with Sausage — One Pan, 25 Minutes
One pan, no boiling a separate pot, done in 25 minutes. Yes, tonight.
This is the dinner for the night when you're standing in the kitchen, staring into the fridge, and you just need something warm and satisfying without a lot of decisions. Store-bought gnocchi cooks right in the skillet — no separate boiling pot, no draining, no mess. The sausage does most of the flavor work for you, and a handful of cheese at the end ties everything together. Expect something hearty, a little crispy on the gnocchi edges, and deeply comforting. It won't look fancy, but it will taste like you tried.
Ingredients
- 1 lb shelf-stable or refrigerated potato gnocchi — one 16 oz package
- 0.75 lb Italian sausage — chicken, turkey, or beef; bulk or removed from casings
- 2 tbsp olive oil — divided
- 4 unit garlic cloves — minced or pressed
- 1 cup chicken broth — low-sodium preferred
- 0.5 cup heavy cream
- 1 cup canned crushed tomatoes
- 0.5 tsp dried Italian seasoning
- 0.25 tsp red pepper flakes — optional, to taste
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 pinch black pepper
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- 0.25 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 2 cup fresh baby spinach — loosely packed; optional but easy
Method
- 1 Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a large (12-inch) skillet over medium-high heat. Add the sausage and cook, breaking it up with a spoon, until browned and cooked through, about 5–6 minutes. Transfer to a plate and set aside. Drain excess fat if needed, leaving about 1 tbsp in the pan.
- 2 Reduce heat to medium. Add the remaining 1 tbsp olive oil and the minced garlic. Cook, stirring constantly, for 30 seconds until fragrant — don't let it burn.
- 3 Add the crushed tomatoes, chicken broth, heavy cream, Italian seasoning, and red pepper flakes (if using). Stir to combine and bring to a gentle simmer.
- 4 Add the gnocchi directly to the skillet — no pre-boiling needed. Stir to coat, then spread into an even layer. Cover with a lid or foil and cook for 5–6 minutes, stirring once halfway through, until the gnocchi are tender and have absorbed most of the liquid.
- 5 Return the cooked sausage to the skillet. Add the spinach (if using) and stir until wilted, about 1 minute. Taste and season with salt and pepper.
- 6 Scatter the mozzarella and Parmesan evenly over the top. Cover the skillet again and cook for 2 minutes until the cheese is melted. Serve straight from the pan.
Variations
- Vegetarian swap — Skip the sausage and add 1 can of drained white beans plus an extra pinch of Italian seasoning and a little smoked paprika for depth. Swap chicken broth for vegetable broth.
- Faster swap — Use pre-cooked chicken sausage (sliced into rounds) instead of raw bulk sausage — it just needs a quick sear, saving about 4 minutes of cook time.
- No heavy cream — Sub in whole milk or half-and-half. The sauce will be a bit thinner but still tasty. Avoid skim milk — it can break in the heat.
Notes
Shelf-stable gnocchi (the kind in a vacuum-sealed package in the pasta aisle) works great here and is a good pantry staple to keep on hand. Refrigerated gnocchi also works but may cook slightly faster — check at the 4-minute mark. Leftovers reheat okay with a splash of broth or water to loosen the sauce, but the gnocchi will soften further. This is best eaten fresh.
Equipment that helps
- 12-inch skillet with a lid — You need enough surface area to spread the gnocchi in a single layer so they cook evenly without steaming into mush.
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